CONSUMER INVOLVEMENT

MEANING AND TYPES OF CONSUMER INVOLVEMENT:

Another component that closely relates to motivation is involvement. Involvement is defined as a

psychological state that motivates people to be more aware and careful about
persons/objects/situations. It also indicates a level of personal importance that the person
attaches to such persons/objects/situations. Thus, there are (a) high and low-involvement
consumers; (b) high and low-involvement purchases.

Consumer involvement is defined as a state of mind that motivates consumers to identify with
product/service offerings, their consumption patterns and consumption behavior. Involvement
creates within consumers an urge to look for and think about the product/service category and
the varying options before making decisions on brand preferences and the final act of purchase.
It is the amount of physical and mental effort that a consumer puts into a purchase decision. It
creates within a person a level of relevance or personal importance to the product/service
offering and this leads to an urge within the former to collect and interpret information for
present/future decision making and use. Involvement affects the consumer decision process and
the sub processes of information search, information processing, and information transmission.
As Schiffman has put it “Involvement is a heightened state of awareness that motivates
consumers to seek out, attend to, and think about product information prior to purchase”. It is the
perceived interest and importance that a consumer attaches to the acquisition and consumption of
a product/service offering.

Herbert Krugman, a researcher is credited with his contribution to the concept of consumer
involvement. According to him, consumers approach the marketplace and the corresponding
product/service offerings with varying levels and intensity of interest and personal importance.
This is referred to as consumer involvement.

Involvement of consumers while makes purchase decisions varies across persons, across
product/service offerings in question as well as purchase situations and time at hand. Some
consumers are more involved in purchase processes than others. For example, a person who has
a high level of interest in a product category would expend a lot of time making a decision with
regard to the product and the brand. He would compare brands across features, prices etc.
Another example is a person who is risk aversive; he would also take a longer time making a
decision. Involvement also varies across product/service offerings. Some products are high
involvement products; these are products that are high in value and expensive, possess sufficient
amount of risk, are purchased infrequently, and once purchased, the action is irrevocable, i.e.
they cannot be returned and/or exchanged . On the other hand, there are low involvement
products, which are moderately expensive or generally inexpensive, possess little risk and are
purchased regularly on a routine basis. Further, such consumer involvement based on their
personal traits or on the nature of product/service offering are also impacted by the buying
situation and time in hand for making purchase decisions. Very often, due to time constraints or
emergency situations, a consumer may expend very little time on the purchase decision and
buying activity in spite of the fact that the consumer is highly involved or risk aversive or the
product is a high involvement one.

Types of Consumer Involvement:

Depending on whether the involvement is short term or long term, consumer involvement could
be of two types, viz., situational and enduring.

1. Situational involvement: This is a state of arousal directed towards attaching relevance

to a person/object/situation for a short term. As an affective state, it creates a level of
involvement when a person thinks about a particular person/object/situation. It is specific
to a situation and is thus temporary in nature. It could vary from low to high, depending
upon the situational factors.
For example, a middle aged lady suddenly decides to gift a laptop to her son on his
birthday. She is not techno savvy and has little interest with the product category. She
goes to the electronics mall and visits the various stores that sell computers and laptops.
She collects information on the product features, prices, etc and finally takes the help of
her middle aged neighbor to reach a final decision. Her involvement with the purchase
activity would be regarded as a situational involvement.
 2. Enduring involvement: When the level of involvement towards the product/service
category extends over a period of time across situations, it is referred to as enduring
involvement. The person shows a high-level of interest in the product category and
spends time collecting and processing information and integrating it within his memory.
For example, a person desires to buy a laptop for his son to be gifted to him when he
goes to college, which would be three years later. The father plans well in advance, tries
to collect information through advertisements, brochures, trade journals, visits to dealers,
and word of mouth from peers and colleagues. Within this period he gets involved with
the product category and after three years is in a position to take a decision based on the
facts that he has collected. This is referred to as enduring involvement.
Enduring involvement with a product category often gives birth to an opinion leader. An
opinion leader is a person who holds interest in a particular product/service category, and
becomes a specialist; he makes efforts to gather all information about the category, the
brand offering etc.; he talks about and spreads the information and the knowledge that he
possesses. When a person wants to make a purchase, he seeks the advice and guidance of
such an opinion leader who helps him make a decision. Opinion leaders are product
specific. In the example above, if the lady approaches her neighbor and takes his
advice/guidance because the neighbor is young, techno savvy and knows a lot about
electronics and in particular laptops, she would actually be taking help of what is known
as an “opinion leader”.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR MODELS BASED ON INVOLVEMENT:

Consumer involvement affects the ways in which consumers seek, process, and transmit
information, make purchase decisions and make post-purchase evaluation. As the level of
consumer involvement increases, the consumer has greater motivation to gather, comprehend,
elaborate and assimilate on information. A marketer needs to design his marketing mix in a
manner that he can activate the involvement process to his favor, and marketing communication
has a key role to play. A few models have been proposed that are based on consumer
involvement; these are discussed below.

1. The Low-Involvement Learning Model

As explained in the previous section, low involvement products are those products that
are inexpensive or maybe moderately priced; they are low in value and risk; and, are
frequently purchased. Often, they are purchased as a matter of routine. Example,
toothpaste, soap, bread etc. For such products, the consumer gives little thought, and
feelings may not be formed for the product until after the purchase has been made. So the
tri-component, cognition, attitude and behavior are arranged in a manner such that
cognition leads to behavior that finally leads finally to attitude. Cognition →Behavior
→Attitude. (Hierarchies of effects for low and high involvement decisions, Assael,
1992).
Marketing communication through audio visual media, i.e. TV and radio follows this
principle. Through the advertisement, the marketer educates the consumers about his
product offering and the brand; this may be a new product or a modified version of an
existing product; he tries to create awareness and form beliefs about the brand. At this
stage he does not aim at forming/changing attitudes; he just aims at developing cognition
through the message content. Thus, the marketer tries to replace the old beliefs with new
ones, without first changing the attitude. Further through special effects and picturization
of the product/service offering, message context, jingle and music, as well as the
celebrity/spokesperson, the marketer tries to elicit a behavior on part of the consumer to
buy his product. If the consumer is satisfied with the purchase, he feels that he has
received a positive reinforcement, and he learns to buy the same brand again. On the
other hand, if he is dissatisfied, he receives a negative reinforcement and the likelihood of
repetition of that behavior (i.e. of buying the same brand) is reduced.

Implications for a marketer:

1. Low involvement products need to be dealt with differently from high
involvement products. The marketer needs to follow a sequence of Cognition→
Behavior → Attitude.
2. Low involvement products need to be dealt with differently from high
involvement products. The marketer needs to follow a sequence of Cognition→
Behavior→ Attitude.
 3. The marketer could benefit if he tries and relates low involvement products with
day to day needs and present them in the form of slice-of-life commercials. These
products would be essentially day to day routinized purchases and could also be
impulse items.
4. The marketer could also benefit if he manages to move people from low to high
involvement through effective brand management. He should be able to build a
brand, and relate it to the segment by tapping it to the need and benefit, lifestyle
and social class etc. By building such a connection, he could create brand loyalty.

2. The Learn-Feel-Do Hierarchy Model:

With implications for marketing communication, the learn-feel-do-hierarchy model, was

proposed by Vaughn and his colleagues in the 1980’s at Foote, Cone and Belding; thus, it also
acme to be known as the FCB Matrix,. Consumer decision making varies across the nature of
product/service offerings. According to the model, some purchases are backed by a lot of
cognition and thinking, while others are based on feelings and emotions. The combination of
these reference points produces a strategy matrix. The marketer has to choose appropriate
strategies for different kinds of product/service offerings. He needs to analyze the nature of his
product, and design his promotion strategy accordingly; the advertising medium should relate to
the product category.

The learn-feel-do model is a simple matrix that links consumer decision making and consumer
choices to three components which are information (learn), attitude (feel), and behavior (do). The
matrix classifies consumer decision-making along two dimensions, high/low involvement and
thinking/feeling. Involvement as a dimension is represented on a continuum as high and low;
over time one moves from high to low involvement. Thinking and feeling represent the other
axis again as two ends of a continuum; with time, there is a movement from thinking toward
feeling (See Figure 1).

As illustrated in the matrix, based on cross combinations, there are four cells, viz., High
Involvement/High Thinking, High Involvement/High Feeling, Low Involvement/Low Thinking
and Low Involvement/Low Feeling. Put together they each of these quadrants holds relevance to
designing of marketing communication and can be explained as follows:

a) High Involvement/High Thinking: This quadrant of the matrix consists of high

involvement and thinking, typically signifying higher level of rationality. Products that
fall into this quadrant are high involvement products, where decision making involves a
lot of thinking. Because of the nature of product/service offerings that fall in this
category, consumers have a high need for information. Also, consumer decision making
is driven by economic motives. Examples of products that would fall into this quadrant
include cars, laptops, real estate etc. as well as innovative products. The strategy model is
learn → feel → do.
b) High Involvement/High Feeling: This quadrant is representative of situations which are
high involvement and high feeling; while there is a level of involvement, information and
thinking is less important than the feeling factor; this is because such purchases are
related to the person’s self-esteem. The affect component is stronger than the information
factor. The person is drawn by the feeling, emotional and psychological motives; and,
they become a "feeler" about the product. Examples include sports cars and motorcycles,
fashion apparel and jewellery, perfumes etc. The strategy model is feel → learn → do.
c) Low Involvement/Low Thinking: The third cell requires minimal effort on the part of
the consumer, both in terms of involvement and thinking. It actually results from habit
forming within the consumer (or the doer), as a result of habitual buying and purchase.
He becomes a reactor in the sense that whenever he has a need, he reacts and
immediately purchases whatever brand he has been purchasing. Over a period of time,
almost all products would fall into this quadrant. Examples of products that would
involve the low involvement/thinking dimensions include staples, bread, stationery, soap
etc. The strategy model is feel → learn → do.
 Figure 1: The Learn-Feel-Do Hierarchy Matrix

d) Low Involvement/Low Feeling: The products that fall in this quadrant signify low
involvement and low feeling; yet, they promote self-satisfaction. Consumers buy such
products to satisfy personal tastes, many a times influenced by peer influence and social
pressures. Examples include cigarettes, liquor, movies etc. The strategy model is do→
feel → learn.

Implications for a marketer:

1. For high involvement/high thinking products, the marketer should provide such
information about the product/service and the brand offering that helps build a favorable
attitude for his brand, so that it could lead to a purchase. The focus of the advertisement
should be on factual relevance.
2. For products that fall in the high involvement/high feeling quadrant, a marketer should
devise a promotional strategy that arouses an affective state that is positive and favorable.
 A good psychological emotional and mood state would create an urge within the
consumer to learn more about the offering, and finally buy the product/service. The
advertisement should focus on both facts and entertainment.
3. For low involvement and low thinking products, the marketer needs to create and
maintain brand loyalty; promotional strategies should focus on creation of brand recall.
The advertisement should focus on both facts and entertainment.
4. This proves to be challenging for marketers as consumers are driven by social pressures
and brand loyalty is short lived. The promotional strategy should include social appeals
with an entertainment orientation.

3. The Product versus Brand Involvement Model:

This model assesses consumer involvement at two levels, product and brand. A consumer
may be involved with a product/service category but may not be necessarily involved
with the brand. The converse may also be true, where he may be involved with the brand
and not with the product/service category.
According to the model, consumers can be classified into four types according to their
involvement with the product/service category and with the brand. These categories are
as follows: Brand loyalists, Information seekers, Routine brand buyers and, Brand
switchers. The model could hold relevance when involvement is used as a segmentation
criteria (See Figure 2).
 Figure 2: The Learn-Feel-Do Hierarchy Matrix

a) Brand loyalists: Brand loyalists are consumers that are highly involved with the product
category as well as the brand. As both product and brand are of high involvement, the
marketer should provide information about the product category as well as the brand. As
the consumers are involved with the brand as well, they exhibit brand loyalty.
b) Information seekers: This is a consumer category that is highly involved with the
product category but shows low involvement with the brand. The consumers here do not
think much about the brand, show less preference towards the brands and would not
have established a preferred brand; brand loyalty is absent in most cases, and maybe
very low in a few cases. Such consumer put in efforts to search out collect information
about the product category and the various brands. After they have processed such
information and compared the various options, they make a decision on which brand is
best.
c) Routine brand buyers: Routine brand buyers are not highly involved with the product
category but shows involvement with a particular brand within that category. They tend
to show a level of loyalty towards the brand, although they are not particularly interested
 in the product category. If and when they need to use a product, they patronize a
particular preferred brand only.
d) Brand switchers: Consumers who fall in this category are neither involved neither with
the product category nor with the brand. They buy anything they can get hold off and
not particular about the product or the brand. As the term suggest, they keep on
switching their brands. They do not have an emotional bond with any brand. Generally,
such consumers are price sensitive and respond to price.

Implications for a marketer:

1. For brand loyalists, the marketer should place emphasis on winning customers
and creating brand loyalty. The marketer should provide information about the
brand, and portray how their brand is better than the competitor. Apart from
providing information, the marketer should also try an emotional connect with
the consumer. Promotional messages should be informational as well as
emotional; they should provide facts, as well as reinforce brand loyalty.
2. Promotional messages for information seekers must lay emphasis on information
rather than emotions. The marketer should make sure that he provides such
consumers with relevant facts about the product category as well as the brand.
He should tilt brand information in his favor by stressing how his brand is better
than the other competitive brands. The product features, attributes, benefits etc as
well as information on brand differences need to be emphasized upon.
3. In order to encourage the continuation of loyalty with routine brand buyers, the
marketer should use emotional appeals.
4. For brand switchers, the marketer needs to use economic appeals that emphasize
on price of the brand, comparison with other brands, discounts, savings, value for
money etc.

CONSUMER INVOLVEMENT AND IMPLICATIONS FOR

MARKETERS

Consumer involvement has implications for a marketer. Consumer involvement affects how
consumers gather, comprehend and transmit information, make purchase decisions and make
post-purchase evaluation. Thus a marketer needs to understand the process and design his
marketing mix in a manner that can activate the involvement process to his favor. The study of
consumer involvement can be useful for a marketer in the following ways:

1. The study of consumer involvement helps a marketer assess how the majority of your
target market relates to the purchase of the particular product/service category, in terms
of high/low involvement.
If the majority of the target segment views it as a high involvement, the decision making
becomes rational, although there may be an emotional and egoistic element too. For
example, while buying an automobile, a rational mind would look to mileage, engine etc.;
an emotional mind would think of color, aesthetics, style; and an egoistic mind would
relate it to pride and prestige. On the other hand, if the majority of the segment treats it as
of low involvement, the decision making becomes emotional.
2. The marketer could gain insights into high involvement and low involvement purchase
situations, and accordingly bring about changes in his marketing strategy.
For high-involvement purchases, the consumer searches for information extensively; thus
a marketer the marketer needs to provide information about the product category as well
as the brand. Marketing communication should focus on product features, attributes,
benefits etc. Information on brand differences also needs to be emphasized upon. Longer
format media need to be used like (i) print in newspapers, magazines, journals and
brochures; (ii) videos.
As far as low-involvement purchases are concerned, these are generally routine in nature;
the marketer needs to use emotional appeals. Attempts should be made to create and
maintain brand loyalty. Point-of-purchase stimuli, store display and attractive
merchandise can also help boost sales. Advertising should focus on audio visual media
through emotional appeals.
3. If a marketer is confronted with both high involvement and low involvement segments,
he can deal with both the segments separately by bringing about changes in the marketing
mix. However he needs to take such a decision after understanding the size and potential
of each of such segments; if only a small segment operates on a low involvement or on
high involvement, may not be feasible to cater to both.